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Biomedical subjects

G Scambler

Publications and source records attributed to G Scambler.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Towards an evaluation of the effectiveness of an epilepsy nurse in primary care.

This paper reports on early results of an investigation of the effectiveness of a specialist epilepsy nurse in primary care. Based on before-and-after interviews with sub-samples of adults with epilepsy, these results suggest that not only are expectations of the usefulness of epilepsy nurse interventions high, but also that these expectations are not disappointed in practice. Particular areas where epilepsy nurses may be able to complement and enhance medical approaches to treatment and care are identified.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Generating a model of epileptic stigma: the role of qualitative analysis.

This paper uses an account of the goals, methods and results of a British community study of coping with epilepsy to consider the nature and range of the contributions qualitative analyses can make to theory formation. Different functions and contexts of qualitative analyses are described, and illustrations given of ways in which these helped generate and inform a particular model of the impact of the stigma of epilepsy on day-to-day life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Survey of general practitioners' attitudes to AIDS in the North West Thames and East Anglian regions.

As the numbers of people suffering from human immunodeficiency virus infection and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) increase, so will the contribution to care required from general practice. A postal questionnaire survey was therefore carried out among general practitioners in the North West Thames and East Anglian regions to determine their attitudes to AIDS and the issues it raises for them. One hundred and thirty seven questionnaires were returned (response rate 57%) and four factors underlying the doctors' attitudes identified; these concerned disease control, general practitioner care, patient support, and perception of seriousness. There were wide divergences of attitude among the general practitioners, younger doctors being more in line with specialist thinking on AIDS than older colleagues, and evidence of important gaps between policies advocated by AIDS specialists and bodies of opinion in general practice. Attitudes to AIDS in general practice may partly be a function of personal experience; further study is required.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Attitudes towards epilepsy in general practice.

Little is known about the attitudes of general practitioners (GPs) towards epilepsy or of the attitudes they attribute to laypersons. Postal questionnaires returned by 50 GPs permitted an analysis of the main sources of their knowledge of epilepsy, the role of GPs in treating patients with epilepsy, the personalities and behaviour of people with epilepsy, and the psychological and social consequences of having epilepsy. The results were compared with a recent Australian survey and the implications for care discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Minor psychiatric morbidity and menstruation.

The extent of minor psychiatric morbidity in a community sample of women aged 16-44 was investigated, using the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The relationship between psychiatric ill health and the reporting of menstrual distress, measured by a modified version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MMDQ), was then examined for three phases of the menstrual cycle--the premenstruum, the menstrual flow and the remainder of the cycle. Positive associations were found between psychiatric ill health and the reporting of distinctive patterns of distress in the premenstruum and during the menstrual flow. Possible explanations for these associations were considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Menstrual symptoms, attitudes and consulting behaviour.

Menstrual symptoms are extremely common and yet consultation rates for menstrual symptoms are low. This paper examines the prevalence, nature and severity of the menstrual symptoms reported by a community sample of 79 women aged 16-44. A typology of women's attitudes towards menstruation is constructed. Level of menstrual symptom distress and attitudes towards menstruation are then incorporated into a typology of non-consulters for menstrual problems. Finally, some of the principal issues raised by this typology are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Kinship and friendship networks and women's demand for primary care.

Women's perceptions of illness are examined and the effects of lay consultations and social networks on the use of general practitioner services are explored.A sample of 79 women aged 16-44 from a new estate in London completed six-week health diaries and were subsequently interviewed. Symptoms were recorded in the diaries one day in every three, and the ratio of medical consultations to symptom episodes was 1:18. Nearly three quarters of the symptom episodes that precipitated a medical consultation during the diary period were discussed first with someone who was non-medical. There was an average of 11 lay consultations for every medical consultation. Married women were most likely to consult with their husbands, and single and separated or divorced women with their mothers. The second most popular category of lay consultant, regardless of marital status, was female friends. Type of symptom seemed to have little effect on who was consulted.Large, active kinship networks appeared to predispose women to consult their general practitioners; large, active friendship networks seemed to have an opposite, if less decisive, effect. We speculate that discussions of symptoms with kin may be intense and protracted and lead to kin referrals to general practitioners. On the other hand, discussions with friends may be more casual and result in symptoms being redefined as unimportant and less in need of medical attention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Social class, epileptic activity, and disadvantage at work.

A community sample of 94 adults with epilepsy were interviewed in their homes by a sociologist and a neurologist. Less than half of those who had worked full-time after the onset of their seizures could recall that their careers had been inhibited by their epilepsy, yet most felt 'at risk' and chose to conceal their condition from their employers or potential employers. Disadvantage in employment was found to be related both to a working class status and to a high rate of epileptic activity. We suggest that epileptics are prone to deny themselves career opportunities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

How doctors deal with epilepsy.

All of those adults with epilepsy on the lists of 17 general practitioners in Metropolitan London were identified. 87% of these agreed to be separately interviewed in their homes by a neurologist and a sociologist. The vast majority had been referred to hospital for investigation, and their hospital notes were inspected. The pattern of care suggests unnecessary referral, unnecessary electroencephalography, inadequate communication of the diagnosis, inadequate medication, and follow-up supervision not related to patient need.

Adolescent↗